Fat testsThe government's latest plans to start weigh-ins for children aged
four upwards to tackle the rise in obesity has caused controversy. Here's
what
There's no reason why a child should be fat"I really don't think it's a good idea emphasising things like weight to young children; I think all it's going to do is make the child feel very insecure and sensitive to the subject. I don't think children should be worrying about being overweight; that's their parents' problem. I never talk about mummy being on a diet etc in front of my son or my daughter. I think more information should be given out to parents before their child gets fat, more healthy snacks should be given out at schools, and PE should be done at least twice a week. There is no reason why a child should be fat: chubby, maybe, as it's all just baby fat." HCov I always found the nit nurse scary"What a scary thought - I always found the nit nurse scary enough! Surely it would be better left to the parents? Or maybe I'm assuming they are all educated enough to know an overweight child should be encouraged to exercise more and eat more fruit/veg. Maybe the money for this could be used to buy fruit/healthy snacks for the classroom." Spanner82 It's very sad seeing kids like that"I used to be a school cook and have seen my fair share of very overweight children. I can't believe that some kids are in the state they are. One example was a six-year-old girl who had a packed lunch every day that consisted of two packs of crisps and two chocolate bars and pop. Sometimes she had a cheese string (obviously her mum thought this was nutritious), some days a Dairylea Dunker. This six-year-old was fat, very fat. She 'hated' salad and veg and when she started to get free school dinners we struggled to get her to eat a potato that wasn't chipped. She refused veg everyday and she was bullied mercilessly. Her parents were also very overweight. "I don't know what good weighing this young girl at school would have done, probably just made her be bullied all the more. And if the powers that be realised that this little girl was so overweight would they have any power to help her anyway? Her mum obviously could see she was fat and chose to do nothing. Would a report home change that? I doubt it. It's very sad seeing kids like that." Chelle More exercise, less fatty foods should help"I am against weigh-ins and don't think they will achieve anything. An overweight child is obviously overweight, if you see what I mean. As one person pointed out, children who are chubby aged 4 can slim right down later in life. Also, apparently participating in this will only be voluntarily, not obligatory, so if parents don't want their child weighed then they don't have to and similarly they can refuse to have a letter. And what would they do with the letter: if they see their child is overweight but aren't doing anything about it then I don't see how a letter will change matters. "It's a really tricky one. I agree that food in schools should be improved so kids only eat healthy meals and snacks. Also I think that PE should be increased; when my mum was at school, they did 5-10 minutes of stretching every day before lessons (though admittedly she hated it!). At my school in Canada, we had PE at least twice a week and cross-country running 2-3 times a week in spring, summer and autumn. You could walk it if you wanted but you had to do it. More exercise, less fatty foods should help balance things out a bit, even if the kids are eating rubbish at home." Sam It will be a waste of time if it's an opt-out scheme"Why do we not welcome any attempt to get children fit and healthy? We don't object to our children having their teeth checked by the school dentist, the results of any check-up is not shared with the class. I'm sure that the 'weigh-ins' would simply be a medical and would be done in private and not in front of everyone else. Also any letter that went home would be private and confidential and if the kid is fat anyway it will be bullied whether or not it was weighed in private. It will be a waste of time if it is an opt-out scheme though. The parents of fat children will simply not give permission for the medical." Redgecko Home life is the biggest factor""I'm not sure that weigh-ins will achieve very much. I think educating the parents as to healthy eating would be a far better idea. I think we are getting closer with Jamie Oliver's initiative and this will go some way to helping some children but the truth of it is that some parents just don't care and fill their kids full of rubbish to shut them up and get an easy life. "This is a topic quite close to my heart as my niece, who will be ten next month, is very large (size 14 clothes). My sister divorced last year and has been battling with her ex to encourage him to stop filling her with sweets and fatty foods. Even when they were together, as soon as my sister's back was turned he would be off down to the shops with her and let her have anything she wanted. Obviously she didn't choose raw carrot or fruit when chocolate, crisps and sweets were on offer. She gives her healthy food but the amount she can put away is unbelievable. It's a case of too little too late really but she is trying. As with most children's issues, home life is the biggest factor in my opinion." Caroline There should be some education for parents"I think that routine health screening for school-aged children is a good idea and weight/height should be part of it. There also should be some education for parents and advice on achieving a healthy balanced diet and meal/snack suggestions. I'm not sure if it'll really help, it's fairly obvious if a child is overweight." Sue It's being left to the school again"I think it's a lame idea. You don't need a set of scales to tell when kids are overweight. It's normally quite apparent just by looking at them and again I feel that the onus is being left on the school to deal with things which should be dealt with by parents at home." Sandie I don't see anything wrong with it"My children have been weighed at school as well as having their eyes tested etc, although you do get a letter first which states that you can opt your child out or be present when they do it if you so wish. I don't see anything wrong with it, it is done privately and if the parents choose to go along then at least they get the chance to discuss any concerns. I remember the nurse being quite shocked that Libby weighed nearly 3.5 stone when she had just turned 4 because there is not an ounce of fat on her but then at a size 10 I can weigh between 11 and 11.5 stone and I am not all that tall at 5' 6, so I guess she takes after me, as does Rhys who is bordering on 8 stone at the age of 9 (nearly 10)." Faye We have been deluged with healthy eating leaflets"Seems pointless: if a child is seriously overweight you don't need to weigh them to know it. The general principle is fair enough though. We have been deluged with healthy eating leaflets from school and are not allowed to send crisps, chocolate or sweets in lunchboxes. And now it's walk to school week too. OK, we get the message! I wish I could get my son to put some weight on, he is six-and-a-half and only weighs 48lbs. And he's one of the tallest in his class as well." Claire Anything is worth a try"Unfortunately, most parents of overweight children do not consider their children to be overweight. Anything is worth a try to get them to see reality staring at them. There's a girl in my seven-year-old's class who weighs 40kg and is the same height of my son (133cm) who weighs only 24kg, so she's almost double his weight for the same height. "I have seen a report on TV about the system of healthy food, exercise and regular health checks carried out on Finnish school children and was really impressed. Finland has managed to reduce the levels of child obesity since the inception of this system. I cannot see why any parent would object to having their children getting free health checks, access to healthy food and regular exercise." Bernadette Where to next?
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